Pictures of The Week

You know the drill.....

Noah watching a little video by Jon Schmidt on YouTube.  He is an amazing pianist and Noah loves to listen to his music.  I took this picture and joked with Andy that Noah was looking into his future haha (red hair and all).  I got a good laugh out of it :) Click here to see the video and view their YouTube page for yourself!

Amidst all the packing, I decided to make Noah a little tent to keep him busy and to have something fun for him to do.  I decided I would crawl in it with him for a few minutes and when I asked him to turn around so I could take a picture he kindly replied, "No thanks!" haha At least he knows his manners (usually :).

A beautiful day at the park! Don't be fooled by Noah's face, he loved every minute!

Clare, always so happy :)

Later, Noah rode his bike in the yard (a.k.a. sitting on it pretending to ride)!

Noah is always up to something (as you have seen in this post so far).  Here he is playing with some of his toys.  The conversation between his toys went something like this..."I want popsicles and juice!" "You can't have popsicles and juice!"  "I want it!" "Popsicles and juice are all gone" "I want popsicles and juice!" "You want popsicles and juice?"  "YES!" "Ok, you have popsicles and juice."

If you remember in my last post about Noah's trip to the hospital, after his sugary they gave him popsicles and juice! haha It's amazing how he hangs on to stuff like that!

And her is Noah once again.  This time he is obviously sleeping in the hallway.  I had no idea he was there until I went to check on Clare.  I walked right by him and he didn't even budge.  Crazy kid!

This is how I entertain my kids on Sunday when we are waiting for Daddy to finish up after church.  They love it, and I don't mind it either (we have late church so the building is always empty by this time).

Still entertaining ourselves while waiting for Daddy.  I told Noah to make a silly face and he said, "No! Make a sad face."  So sad face it was.  We are talented!

Lastly, reading a commencement address by President Hinckley in 2004 at BYU-Hawaii.  I loved this line and at the moment it just hit home to me.  It's an amazing address, and you can read the whole thing HERE (you wouldn't regret it).

Have a wonderful week!

Noah's Visit to the Hospital

Don't let the title freak you out too much, it was a planned visit!  A while back we had taken Noah in to see a pediatric dentist just to have an exam.  She informed us that Noah had some cavities that would need to be fixed (which didn't entirely surprise me).  First, let me clear the air, we are diligent with brushing Noah's teeth.  I am not going to say we brushed them every night (now we do!) but we would only miss a night on occasion.   We decided, to keep Noah from being traumatized at the Dentist office, that we would go ahead and put him under general anesthesia and have them take care of it all at once.  It was the best decision for Noah, and I still feel that way.  Noah wouldn't have lasted 2 minutes in the dentist chair while they were drilling!

Everything went well and we are happy to report that after a good long nap this afternoon that Noah is back to his old self!

Here's how the day went...

We arrived at the hospital at 6:30am and got Noah all checked in and changed into his gown.  At first he protested a little bit, but then we turned on the Disney channel and that distracted him long enough to get him changed.

After a while he decided to get comfortable and watch a little Mickey Mouse clubhouse (his favorite)!

A nurse came in shortly before 8am and gave Noah some 'goofy juice'.  Medicine that would help Noah to relax before they took him back to the OR for anesthesia and his IV. I am glad they took him back before the put him under, mostly because I was afraid I was going to get very emotional if I had to watch.  The wheeled him away and we went up to the waiting room....

Clare and I went down to the gift shop and bought Noah a little car for when he woke up...

 I am not sure if you can see, but those bad boys were $9.00 each!  It's true, the hospital gift shop probably wasn't the best place to buy toy cars, but Noah loved it and it was worth every penny!

 Andy got some studying in!  Not even in school yet and already studying like he is!  :)

 Noah's favorite part was the Popsicle back in his room.  The nurse said he probably wouldn't remember any of this when he got home but we asked him about the Popsicles and he remembered both colors that the nurse gave him!  Seems like he was even more aware then we thought :)

When we got home he cuddled up on the couch and quickly fell asleep.  He sure was a trooper today!  We are so lucky to have little Noah in our family.

Simple Things: Father's Day

I am sure you aren't in the least bit surprised that today I am grateful for the wonderful fathers in my life!  I have been blessed with so many wonderful father figures and influences and am so grateful that my children will be able to share some of those same relationships!

Firstly, I am grateful for Andy.  He is the best father and husband that I could ask for.  He is so patient with the kids and really inspires me to be more patient myself.  He is the voice of reason!  If I am caught up in something he will always calm me down and help me to see the whole picture.  He loves Noah and Clare so much and isn't ashamed to show or tell them so.  He takes his role as a husband and father as his highest priority and I have never questioned otherwise.  He is my best friend, and I know he is my kids best friend also.  So often Noah will be sitting by Andy on the couch, or anywhere else, and will turn to me and say, "Mommy, I love my daddy!"  I love him too buddy, he sure is great!

I am also grateful for my father!  He taught me how a husband should treat his wife. He told me the importance of speaking to and treating my mother with respect.  He honors his priesthood and helped me to look for that same quality in my husband.  He taught me gospel principles during day to day life.  I can still remember an experience when he taught me the value of keeping the Sabbath day holy.  I will have to share that with you sometime dad!  He counseled me though much of my single life and encouraged me to go out of my comfort zone and experience new things (and not to give up on them)!  He taught what it really meant to pray.  And mostly, he taught me that even thought life can be rough, you always have enough to give to others!  Thanks Dad!  Sure love ya!

Lastly, I am grateful for Andy's dad!  Not only for the way he and my mother-in-law raised Andy but also for the decisions he made in his life, that have impacted ours.  For choosing to be baptized a member of the church and giving those blessings to his children.  That decision has blessed the life of 6 of his own children, 4 of their spouses and his 9 grandchildren (with many more to come).  I am grateful that he is so willing to 'go with the flow' and I know exactly where Andy gets his patience from.  I am grateful that he is Andy's best friend and how much Andy looks up to him.  I know that our children will look at Andy in the same way.

Let's not forget mine and Andy's brothers and brother-in-law...Nate, Mike, Greg, Corey and Spencer.  All of whom are wonderful fathers who we are so grateful to have in our lives.

The list could go on and on (grandfathers, friends etc) and I am sure you all have a lengthy list of your own!  Here's to the great men in our life and a Happy Fathers Day too!

Pictures of the Week

Wow, it's hard to believe that it's been almost a week since I posted last.  Things are getting crazier and crazier every day at our house, and I can barely keep up!  Just to give you an idea of what's been going on....here are pictures from this week.

This picture is probably very boring for most of you, but I put in a lot of hard work weeding this flower bed, and I had to document it!

I love going through old boxes and seeing stuff from the past.  This was my blessing dress, which Clare wore also.  

 A friend posted this quote on her instagram and I loved it.  I think it's great because it reminds us to stay humble, but also to remember we are no better OR worse then others.

Noah got his little toy basket caught to the back of his pants and kept running around calling it his tail! haha

Clare was having a dramatic moment...as most girls do (mom included)!!

 

I saw this on Pinterest and thought it was hilarious...

The toy car isle at Target always gets Noah excited! 

Using some old school Disney cartoons to induce nap time....

It worked :) 

Not sure if it's because she is teething, but this lady has been waking up usually between 5am and 5:15am.  Let's just say I've been trying to sneak naps in for myself during nap time! 

Enjoying a Gogurt and the sunshine!  Clare ate one and a half of them all by herself, she loved it! 

Cleaning out our storage and going through boxes we saw quickly that a mouse had made a home in some of our baby clothes!  How he got in the rubber made bin I have yet to know!  Ew! 

 It looks like a mess but we're making good progress!

 We even reminisced a little!  This is Andy's older brother and his 7th grade picture.  Amazing!

And Clare just climbed on stuff!  Add all of that stuff up and you have a busy week!  I doubt this week will be any slower!  Could August be coming any faster??? I think not!

Pictures of The Week

 Monday's project was going through all of our files and shredding anything I've been hanging onto for too long.  This pile is only a small portion of what I got rid of! It was very liberating!

 Noah was so generous to give Clare some toys to play with when she woke up from her nap.

We call this one 'Clare and the sports bra.' 

 Happy Face!

 The view out my front door.  I love Washington!

 Boxes are beginning to take over our house!

 Had some friends over for dinner and served this for dessert.  Chocolate Berry Pie.  Amazing!  Find the recipe here.

Here we have three generations.  Mommy, Clare and Baby Doll!  Clare is still mastering how you should hold a baby. :) 

Ain't that the truth!

Avocado Chicken Parm.  Delicious!  I combined two recipes THIS one for the chicken and then followed the remainder of THIS one to finish it off.

Clare found another thing to explore.....

Great way to spend a Saturday afternoon! 

Loved watching the Dodgers beat the Mariners 8-3!!

And just because...